Rejection of Constitutional Court nominees 'regrettable': Lai

Taipei, July 25 (CNA) President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) said the Legislature's decision to vote down all seven of his justice nominees for the Constitutional Court on Friday was "regrettable," according to a Presidential Office statement.

The president found the result "very regrettable and concerning" after the Legislature rejected the nominees during confirmation votes on the legislative floor on Friday, Presidential Office spokesperson Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said in the brief statement.

The statement came hours after Kuomintang (KMT) and Taiwan People's Party (TPP) lawmakers voted down all the nominees selected by Lai in March, including veteran prosecutor Tsai Chiu-ming (蔡秋明) and Supreme Court judge Su Su-e (蘇素娥), who were also nominated to serve as president and vice president of the Judicial Yuan.

The KMT and TPP together hold a majority in the 113-seat Legislature, meaning no nomination can be confirmed without their support.

Meanwhile, several lawmakers from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party joined the opposition in blocking nominees Chen Tsi-yang (陳慈陽) and Chan Chen-jung (詹鎮榮), both of whom are legal scholars. It was not clear why they did so.

Kuo said Friday's vote left the Constitutional Court without the minimum number of justices to function, undermining public access to constitutional redress and placing Taiwan's democratic and constitutional system under an unprecedented challenge.

She called on "both the ruling and opposition parties" to work together to restore the normal functioning of the court, but did not say what steps the president plans to take next or why he had not consulted with opposition lawmakers on the nominees to begin with.

Friday's vote marked Lai's second failed attempt to fill the court's vacancies after the Legislature blocked his first round of nominees in December 2024.

The outcome further deepens the deadlock in the Constitutional Court, as it remains unable to hear or rule on any cases after KMT and TPP lawmakers adopted measures last December requiring a quorum of 10 justices for adjudication.

The court normally has 15 justices but currently only has eight, following the departure of seven justices whose eight-year terms ended on Oct. 31, 2024.